


Insight

by Louse



Category: Steven Universe - Fandom
Genre: F/F, Gem Egg Hell, we all know i love that lmaooo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-04
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-12 02:45:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7081750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Louse/pseuds/Louse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The only disappointment for Jasper was that Pearl couldn’t stay for long afterwards, only able to cuddle and chat for another hour, before running back to the temple to avoid suspicion. Clothes appearing back onto her body, Jasper reached for the music player, and turned the volume up, the slightly grainy audio playing delicate ballet music, something she had learned to enjoy. She turned the light partially against the wall to dim her ‘cave’ just a little bit, before laying down on her blankets and pillows, mouth opening to take in Pearl’s scent from them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I dreamed this entire plot, and I'm editing nothing from the dream. Nothing. So this might get al little weird, but not nonsensical.
> 
> No porn here.
> 
> As usual, not proof read as well as commissioned fics, since writing is hard and you're getting this free.
> 
> you can however commission a fic! Just go here: http://becidot.tumblr.com/post/141059856145/fic-commissions

Jasper had been unconscious when she had fallen into the Earth, the Cluster attempting to emerge having broken part of the surface up. She had thankfully slid into some kind of tunnel system, probably created by corrupted gems, so as things settled and moved she wasn’t crushed or harmed. She was sore from having exhausted herself inside Malachite, then quite unceremoniously torn out of her. Once she’d woken, she was confused and terrified. She fled down the tunnels, having to run on all fours due to how low the ‘ceiling’ was, sometimes hitting her head, or rubble tripping her over. She only seemed to be moving deeper, though.

It was a few weeks of confusion and terror later that she heard a familiar voice, though not exactly a friendly one. Even the voice of the enemy was a comfort, though. Jasper was used to company, even if it was violent or dangerous company. So hearing, and then seeing, Pearl was a blessing. She had remained still, hunched over on all fours as Pearl had approached - and then they talked. They talked about the possibility of Jasper following Pearl back peacefully, and Jasper had seriously considered it until she remembered the other Crystal Gems.

The conversation ended with pearl promising not to tell the others where she was, as long as after Pearl had convinced them to give Jasper a chance, the large quartz followed her back, peacefully, and didn’t attack anyone. Jasper agreed, of course. Pearl made frequent trips out to visit Jasper, usually at night, bringing her things like pillows and blankets to rest on, portable light sources so she didn’t need to tire her gem out using it as a light, and even a small device to play ‘music’ on, for when the silence was just too much.

Needless to say the two had grown quite close...

Jasper flicked the small light on that she’d been given, a “torch” she believed, turning away from it so as not to blind herself. It lit up a good section of the cave she had made for herself into the most stable wall of the tunnel system she could find. She knew the exit now, Pearl had made a point to show her it, and thankfully the exit wasn’t too far. Light on, she reached for the small music player, frowning as it didn’t turn on. She popped the back off, and shook out the batteries, fumbling with a new set.

“I can get that for you if you like.”

Jasper’s head lifted, looking right at Pearl. She nodded, holding the music player out in one hand, the replacement batteries in the other. The pale gem took both, popping the batteries in, scooping up the old one and storing them in her gem. With the batteries in and the back fixed in place, she handed the player back over, Jasper switching it on at a low volume and placing it close by the light, which thankfully had much bigger batteries, making them easier to replace.

“Thanks.” Jasper spoke, opening her arms as Pearl approached her, and once the smaller gem was close enough, the large quartz’s arms wrapped around her. She was sat, as she normally was, the cave not yet tall enough to allow her to stand, so leaning down to nuzzle her gem against Pearl’s was no difficult feat. “Any news on the other Crystal Gems changing their minds about attacking me on sight?”

“Some progress has been made.” Pearl hummed, gently sliding her gem along Jasper’s affectionately, her eyes closing. “Steven has been campaigning quite hard in your favor, thanks to him Amethyst has been warmed up to the idea. The fact I’ve denied seeing you is messing with Garnet’s future vision, though, she’s still unsure.”

“Are you going to tell them soon?”

“Not until Garnet is at least partially convinced you deserve a chance.”

Jasper nodded, and they sat in silence for half an hour, just gently kissing on another, hands petting and stroking each other’s forms and gems as well. No heavy petting, just soft and sweet affection, something Jasper had had to learn. Being a warrior, she was taught that being rough and heavy handed for everything was acceptable, so she had had to learn to be gentle, especially with the devices she had been given.

Things had gotten close to heated in the past, but the tension between them once their bodies pressed together, and the kisses became more involved, seemed to get to them that night. Gems glowed, clothing disappeared, and both of them were thankful they were underground, so nobody would be able to hear them.

The only disappointment for Jasper was that Pearl couldn’t stay for long afterwards, only able to cuddle and chat for another hour, before running back to the temple to avoid suspicion. Clothes appearing back onto her body, Jasper reached for the music player, and turned the volume up, the slightly grainy audio playing delicate ballet music, something she had learned to enjoy. She turned the light partially against the wall to dim her ‘cave’ just a little bit, before laying down on her blankets and pillows, mouth opening to take in Pearl’s scent from them.

Hopefully it wouldn’t be too long until they saw one another again, Pearl did try to keep visits frequents, every two days or so, but that wasn’t enough, Jasper felt. She had very nearly followed Pearl home that night, desperate to be with her for longer, but Garnet’s mind was yet to be made up. Ah well, for a little bit longer, even every few days, she had Pearl all to herself. She couldn’t really complain about that.

The problem arose about two weeks after that night.

Jasper woke, her gem throbbing slightly, and her shapeshifted stomach churning. She had shapeshifted one to eat the rubble digging out her cave had made, her body absorbing every mineral and part, so there was no waste. She wondered if she was simply hungry, and that her body missed eating, so she expanded her cave a few inches to the left, and ate up a good quarter of the rubble, and the feeling stopped for a while, but came back fairly quickly.

Once she woke up more though, her gem ceased to ache and her stomach was calm, happily digesting the rubble in it. That wasn’t a problem in itself, even if it happened every time she woke, sometimes it was that that woke her.

The problem was that she had gotten intimate with Pearl two weeks prior, and both of those were early signs of a gem reproducing organically.

Jasper paced around her little cave, wondering if it was possible. She was made before the Diamonds attempted to exterminate organic reproduction from the race, so yes, it was likely, she just hadn’t thought about it in the moment she had with Pearl. She shoved some of the larger pieces of rubble around with her hands as she walked, brow furrowing. Being a soldier, the gestation period was relatively short, about ten month to a year at most, so the signs would set in quickly.

Higher ranking gems wouldn’t know for years, so in a way, Jasper was thankful she was being told this soon, her body reacting much faster - the eggs would be far less developed if she decided to absorb them.

Now, she hadn’t actually told Pearl yet, but Jasper figured the ex-servant would be visiting that night, and they’d have the conversation then. Regardless, it was nerve racking to know that not only was she carrying young, but she was carrying young on a planet that was new, dangerous, and at the top of the Diamond’s hit list. Essentially, if Jasper chose to keep the eggs, carry them to term and allow them to hatch, she may well be doing it all for naught should Homeworld decide to send more gems to destroy the planet.

It was a tough decision, but one that had to be made. Hopefully Pearl would be able to help her make that choice, after all, they weren’t just Jasper’s offspring.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 2! 3 is already written, but I'll post that after the con

Once Pearl returned, Jasper woke, vision still a little blurry as she looked up at the other gem leaning over her. She smiled a little lopsidedly, a hand lifting to gently brush her knuckles against her cheek. Pearl’s form was so soft, nice and warm to the touch, she wondered why Pearl had come in the day, though. There was no way Jasper had slept for an entire day, right? Pearl turned her head to press a kiss to the orange gem’s knuckles, and Jasper sat up after that, leaning over to nuzzle her mate.

“Is it night time already?”

“No, Steven wanted to take Connie to see a movie, Amethyst went with them so Garnet went to supervise.” Pearl responded, and Jasper nodded before leaning over a little to nuzzle her lips against Pearl’s gem. Maybe they would have longer together then? Regardless, there was a conversation to be had. She’d best just come right out with it.

“I’ve been showing the earliest symptoms of pregnancy.” She knew that was a little too blunt, by the look on pearl’s face, her expression had turned from a warm smile to a surprised stare, expression almost vacant of anything but worry for a handful of moments afterwards. “Only this past week or so.”

“...Already? I mean - I - well i certainly didn’t expect this to happen at all, but for the signs to be showing so soon… Your gestation period is probably going to be incredibly short.” Jasper nodded, already having known that. Warriors were meant to be able to have a short gestation time, to create more gems and then the second they hatched, be sent back out to war. It was very rare a Jasper actually got to see or raise their young, back when organic reproduction was allowed.

Pearls weren’t too different, their gestation was four to six months. It was very hard to get a Pearl’s body to react to sex enough to impregnate them, though, in some cases Pearls on Homeworld were still allowed to breed that way because of how hard they were to make by other means. They usually came out badly formed, and completely useless, so breeding two functional Pearls may take an awful lot of attempts, but the offspring was functional also, the main issue was finding mates that the Pearls would be happy with, since that was the only way they could reproduce.

That meant Pearl trusted Jasper, and was incredibly happy to be with her, right?

“Do you know what you want to do about it, Jasper…?”

“Logically, I would absorb them back into my form.” Pearl tensed up, but didn’t seem to protest. A Pearl breeding with another gem was virtually unheard of, and probably rarer than a regular Pearl breeding. “Lawfully, I’d do the same thing. Homeworld would demand it, I could still be punished if I did it the second the demand was made.” Pearl tensed up even more at that - had she really thought Jasper was coming round to Earth’s laws, so soon…? “I don’t want to, though.” A hand rested over her stomach, looking down at it. “I needed to ask you, though. They’re not just mine.”

“I can only see your location being a problem.” Pearl’s voice was quieter, placing a hand over Jaspers. “...If anything this could convince Garnet that you’re actually willing to come back with me.”

“You still can’t tell her you know where I am.” 

“I wont, not unless you tell me I can.” Pearl let out a sigh. “This isn’t a safe place for you now, Jasper. This place could collapse any day, any minute even. If you lay the eggs here….”

“I know.” Jasper huffed a little, she enjoyed her little cave, but if she was going to keep their offspring she was going to have to relocate for their benefit. She looked to Pearl again, unsure what she should say. She could say, tell Garnet, but was that a good idea? Would that be safe? She had to consider Pearl’s safety, too.

“Alright, if it’s safe to tell Garnet, then do it. I wont come back right away, maybe in a few weeks, but the sooner she knows the better.” Jasper was still hesitant to surrender herself, even with gemlings on the way. She was going to try find somewhere else she could stay, even if it was only a little better than the cave, it would preserve the last shred of dignity she had. Handing herself over to the enemy was a terrible idea, and there was no guarantee she was safe there anyway.

If Garnet decided she wasn’t fond of Jasper being around, she could easily just attack her and be done with it. She doubted the morals of killing the unborn would bother her, she spat in the face of morals by choosing to be fused permanently after all. What it came to, was that the orange quartz knew better than to trust a fusion, let alone one that wanted her dead so badly.

“I can tell her - would it be alright if she came here to see you-”

“No.” Jasper growled out immediately. “She’s not knowing that I’m here.”

“Ah - ok-” Pearl coughed a little, before trying again. “Can you meet her away from here? She will leave you be afterwards. She needs the most convincing…”

Jasper mulled that over, for a good few seconds, before nodding. “Fine. Where would we do that? I don’t want to be left open for attack.”

“She wont attack you.”

“I don’t trust her, Pearl.”

“...That’s fair enough.” Pearl stood, moving her hand, only to place them on Jasper’s cheek and kiss her gem lovingly. The quartz’ gem glowed dimly at the affection, lifting hand to gently stroke Pearl’s hair, and they stayed that way for a handful of moments before Pearl pulled away. “Do you want to give it some more time before I tell Garnet about...this?”

“A week.” Jasper answered, deciding that would be a decent amount of time to properly think things through. “Gives me some more time to think on coming back with you, and if keeping them is the best idea.” If Yellow Diamond decided to fuck Earth over, she wouldn’t give one about a handful of traitor-born gemlings.

With a hum of agreement, and one more kiss, Pearl moved to lay on the blankets, inviting Jasper to join her, which she did of course, laying on her side and pulling Pearl in close, arms around her, wondering how long they could do that before her stomach bump made things a little more awkward. Regardless, this was what she’d needed, laying for a few hours with her mate, talking, kissing, and napping. It was odd how little it bothered her that she had fallen for, and fallen pregnant because of, a Pearl. What bothered her was her alignment, though she supposed she may be switching sides too, so she would have to get used to it.


	3. Chapter 3

Jasper had wished time could pass slower, but sooner than she would have liked, the week passed that Jasper had requested before meeting Garnet. Pearl arrived, urging her to keep her word, and the only reason she even went in the end was because Pearl would have been upset if she hadn’t. She did try to play up feeling sick, but Pearl saw right through that. 

The trip to the exit of the tunnel system forced Jasper onto all fours, but that was fine, she was used to walking round like that now. Walking on just her feet and legs felt odd to her now, really, and she had to be reminded to ‘walk normally’ once out of the tunnels. She didn’t, though. Not until she saw Garnet, anyway. The second the fusion came into her line of sight, she growled a little, and stood properly, drawing up to her full height as she approached, only calming down when Pearl placed a hand on her arm.

She watched as Garnet moved to close the gap once Jasper refused to walk any closer, her face just stoic.

“Nice to see you again, Jasper.” Garnet offered a small smile, but Jasper only grunted, face contorting into a disgusted frown. Upon realizing that wouldn’t help her chances, she returned to a neutral expression.

“Likewise.”

This was already unbearably tense, but she needed to do this, because Pearl was right - the tunnel system wasn’t a safe enough place for raising gemlings, or even just having and protecting her eggs.

“I heard you were expecting - congratulations.” Garnet’s smile became a little more genuine, which put Jasper at ease a little bit. She’d assumed Garnet would have been aggressive or distasteful towards a member of her team breeding with the enemy.

“Thank you.” Jasper was absolutely clueless as to what to say or do - Garnet had seen her, was that not enough? “I hope you’re not expecting me to come with you now I’m not ready yet.” The words may have come aggressive, even if her tone wasn’t but the fusion simply nodded, Pearl letting out a soft, relieved sigh.

“Understandable. This is a big change for you, I don’t expect you to rush into making a decision. You’re welcome anytime.”

After a brief nod from Jasper, Garnet turned and left, leaving the quartz and Pearl alone once more. Jasper returned to all fours, turning to nuzzle Pearl, before making her way back to the tunnels, the paler gem following after hurriedly. 

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Pearl asked, a nervous wobble to her voice. She wanted everything to go well, Jasper knew that, but there was no guarantee things would go smoothly. Transitioning from the hyper aggressive ideals of universal domination of Homeworld to the more gentle, protective ideals of the Crystal Gems, was going to be tough, especially knowing that she would be bringing gemlings into the same ideals and environment.

“It was uncomfortable.” The orange gem responded to her mate honestly, shaking her head. “I don’t like her, but if I can be with you for more than a few hours every other day, then I can put up with having to be in her presence.”

“You’ll warm up to her, I’m sure. When I told her that you were carrying she softened almost immediately. She just smiled and said she wanted to see you when she could, and congratulate you herself. She isn’t cruel, and she doesn’t go out of her way to hurt anyone… last time you saw her before today was as an enemy. Today she saw you as a potential friend.”

“I see her as a potential threat.” Jasper felt that was too cold and blunt, so she continued to speak. “I learned to trust you, because you gave me a reason to. All she did was congratulate me and walk off. I’ll come back with you, soon, but I wont guarantee that I’ll trust anyone else.”

“I suppose that’s fair.” Pearl answered, the rest of the walk back to Jasper’s temporary home travelled in silence. Jasper knew she’d upset Pearl, but she couldn’t lie, or pretend things would be fine right off the bat. She had to be honest, and she was sure that down the line Pearl would be able to appreciate that. Lying and having to bottle up her frustrations would have only caused conflict.

Once back at the cave, Jasper lay down on her blankets, watching to see what Pearl would do. The pale gem ran a hand over the music player she’d given Jasper, the quartz a little confused about what she was doing.

“You wont need this when you’re with us, you know. You wont be lonely, chances are there’s always going to be someone there with you. Steven wants to meet you as well… if you give him a chance I think you’ll like him.”

“I don’t understand why Rose chose to create him.” Jasper grunted. “He’s weak, mortal, and more vulnerable than she ever w-”

“Don’t.” Jasper stopped speaking as Pearl snapped at her, voice cold and filled with a quiet rage. “You had your differences. Steven is not Rose.”

Jasper looked away, she could tell she’d crossed a line, and that Pearl really wasn’t over Rose. What when Steven succumbed to his mortality - would Pearl leave Jasper for Rose? Most likely, and that thought hurt. Humans only lived about eighty earth years, that was barely the blink of an eye for most gems… maybe she had made a mistake allowing herself to be involved with Pearl.

“I’m sorry.”

There was a good minute’s silence after Jasper’s apology, broken by a sigh from Pearl. Jasper looked up as her mate approached her, and knelt beside her. Jesper rolled onto her front, allowing Pearl to hold her head in her hands, and nuzzle their gems together. Jasper closed her eyes, purring gently at the contact, both of their gems starting to glow. She withdrew then, the sensation of her gem harmonizing with another felt like there were claws and fangs digging into the flesh around her gem. Fusion was the ultimate bond between gems, apparently, but then what had Malachite been? Jasper’s fault, that was what.

“It’s fine - I’m sorry for snapping. Now that Garnet knows I’m here though, I should be able to stay the night, if you want.”

“I’d like that.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took so long depression is an ass

A short gestation period, indeed. After only three further weeks, Jasper was visibly pregnant. It wasn’t blatantly obvious, but it was enough now that laying on her front was out of the question entirely. Pearl had noticed, and now had a habit of resting a hand on Jasper’s stomach when they kissed, or hugged, not that the quartz minded. If anything, it was comforting, knowing that Pearl was happy about the gemlings too.

The only problem was that the few weeks she’d asked for were up now. Pearl put Jasper’s blankets and few possessions in a bag she brought with her, carrying it for her as they made their way to the temple. Pearl didn’t hassle Jasper about walking on just her legs now, which she was thankful for. She’d walk normally once close enough to the temple, but while it was just her and Pearl, she walked as comfortably as she pleased.

Steven and the Amethyst were waiting outside when Jasper and Pearl arrived, which only set the warrior on edge. She stood, narrowing her eyes as she approached the other two gems, stopping and letting out a low growl as Steven ran towards them. The hybrid….thing halted, realizing he was being too enthusiastic about their arrival. Jasper hung back with Pearl hugged Steven, and talked briefly to Amethyst, neither of which Jasper said a word to as they all entered the house.

Jasper looked about, a loft with a human bed on it, and underneath that, couches. There was a kitchen on the opposite side of the room, but straight ahead was the warp pad and the temple entrance. That made her even more uncomfortable, but it was too late to go back now.

“If you want, I can turn this part into a big bed?” Steven offered, pointing at the couch area. “I’ve got enough pillows and blankets for it.” Jasper frowned, but nodded, watching as Steven’s eyes lit up, and he started babbling nonsense about how he didn’t think gem could have babies, or something.

“Thank you.” She spoke, as Steven started to arrange the blankets and pillows, Pearl giving her a gentle nudge to go and help him. She crawled onto the ‘nest’ area with Steven, helping him arrange things so they wouldn’t need to be rearranged much as her pregnancy went on. Once they were done, Pearl had already started making food for Steven, Amethyst watching Jasper like a hawk.

“So you and Pearl are really having gemlings?” Steven asked, beaming. “Pearl’s going to be a great mom, and you will be too! You haven’t been here long but you’re already much gentler. You haven’t tried to headbutt me yet!” He giggled, and Jasper couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

“I wont headbutt you. I’m sorry about that, though.”

“It’s ok! You thought you were doing the right thing. I’m glad you changed your mind though, I was worried that you were hurt…”

“I’m not hurt.” Jasper assured Steven, watching as the odd, half human being stood up and approached her again, opening his arms to her with a nervous smile. Jasper wanted to growl at him and tell him to fuck off, but she needed to make an effort with him, so she opened her arms to him and allowed him to hug her, and was surprised by just how mindful he was of her belly. He hugged her gently, and she did the same, knowing she could accidentally hurt him if she wasn’t careful, and when he stepped away he was beaming, glad that she’d accepted his hug.

“How long until the gemlings are here?” Steven asked, sitting down once more, a little disappointed looking when Jasper shrugged.

“I estimate between seven and nine months.” Pearl joined them on the ‘nest’ with a smile. “Factoring in the gestation periods of Jaspers and Pearls, it shouldn’t be much longer than that.”

Eight months total sounded about right, but Jasper couldn’t be sure. What she was sure of though, was that she was already tired. She didn’t ask Steven or Pearl to leave, instead she just lay down with her back against the couches, the hard side already had pillows propped up against them. They were much softer, and nicer to the touch...hopefully they could make up for the fact Garnet and Amethyst would be around.

Steven and Pearl remained in the nest, talking quietly between themselves, though eventually they settled down. Steven decided he was sleeping in the nest, apparently, cuddled up between Pearl and Jasper. The quartz wanted him moved, not sure how comfortable she was with him being there as she slept, but feared upsetting Pearl, or the other Crystal Gems, so let it be, her arms round both him and Pearl.

She nuzzled Pearl affectionately, before letting herself drift off to sleep, woken a few hours later by Steven getting up, and back into his own bed, the poor thing was probably too warm. Jasper’s body temperature was higher than the average human’s, it seemed. She was about to get comfortable again, when she heard someone speaking to her.

“Mind if I jump in there?”

Jasper looked up to see Amethyst stood there, an unsure expression on her face. Why did she want to join in, didn’t she hate Jasper? Pearl had already woken up, and shuffled away from Jasper a little to make room. Jasper nodded, lifting her arm, still confused as Amethyst wiggled her way between her and Pearl, relaxing and almost instantly falling asleep.

The ragtag rebellion was already shaping up to be stranger than originally anticipated, but she was in for the long haul now.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while

Being with the Crystal Gems was much less hassle than Jasper had expected, but it was weirder than she’d anticipated. The rebels that had been so terrifying at war were so ridiculous, and far more comical than they should have been. They were soldiers, with the exception of Steven, so why did they act so immature?

Jasper stayed curled up in her nest most of the time, a human named ‘greg’ had come and hammered wood planks down to box the area off a little, so it would be easier filled and the pillows and blankets wouldn’t end up all over the floor and trip people up. That, and it would stop Jasper from rolling too much when she slept, at the stage she was at with her gestation her stomach was just small enough to allow her to roll, but just big enough for excessive rolling to cause damage.

Steven tried to coax her out of the nest a few times, and was trying to for the fourth time that day. She watched him as he held the plate of meat out to her, beaming.

“I think you’d like steak and bacon if you tried it!”

“I’m not an animal, Steven.” Jasper responded, her tone a little colder than it should have been. A short cough from Pearl, and she tried again. “You can just ask me to come out.” She got up, on all fours absolutely unlike an animal of course, approaching Steven, standing up once she reached him. She looked down at the food on the plate with a frown, before taking it once offered.

“What is it?” She asked, not wanting to eat it yet.

“Steak and bacon - it comes from cows and pigs. They’re farm animals that we eat!”

At that, Jasper tipped the meat into her mouth, offering Steven the plate back. A mistake, since it was more of a mouthful than expected, and quite chewy. Steven watched her, eyes wide and excited.

Once she’d managed to chew the food enough to swallow, she licked the remainder off her lips, before crouching so she didn’t tower over the young hybrid.

“You were right, it’s pretty good.” She lifted a hand to very, VERY carefully ruffle Steven’s hair, as she’d seen the other gems do in an affectionate manner. “I’m sure the gemling will enjoy it, too.” Probably not, considering they needed raw minerals to grow more than anything, but she could consult Pearl on that matter. Eating dry rock and sand was getting old.

“I can make you some more if you want?” Steven offered, but Jasper shook her head.

“I’ve eaten a lot today.” To try and stop Steven being so disappointed, she made him an offer. “Next time I go hunting for rocks to eat you can come with me?”

“Yeah!” Steven grinned, before running back into the kitchen with Pearl so he could help her with the dishes. Pearl smiled at Jasper, who grinned in response, before heading back into the nest. The meat was still warm in her gut, which a more pleasant feeling than cold rock. Hopefully meat and warm food would be just as beneficial to her offspring while they developed.

Once the dishes were done, and Steven went out to get donuts, Pearl joined Jasper in the nest. The quartz shuffled closer to her with a smile, cheeks flushing as her mate pressed a kiss to her gem.

“You’re getting better with Steven.” Pearl commented.

“I’m trying. He’s sweet, it’s just hard understanding his existence and his methods.”

“Understandable. There’s never been anything like him.”

They sat in silence for a minute, just kissing one another’s gems and such, before Jasper spoke up.

“Will human food sustain our gemlings? I’ll still eat the raw minerals, but eating rocks and sand is getting old and dull.”

“Yes - human foods could actually sustain the gemlings even if most of your diet consisted of it, especially meats and dairy products. You would still need to eat a good portion of raw minerals, but there’d be no harm in eating human food alongside that.”

Jasper listened as Pearl went through a list of foods and their mineral content, and what would be best for Jasper to eat, and how they would figure out how much of what Jasper needed based on her current intake. 

It was all beyond Jasper, the names of the foods and the meals they were cooked in, but she listened anyway. She loved Pearl’s voice, and her enthusiasm was warming.

She’d fallen too hard for the rebel pearl.


End file.
